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Bryan Danielson
|weight= |status= |trained= |debut= December 1999 |billed= Aberdeen, Washington |other= |caption =|birthname = Bryan Lloyd Danielson|birth_date = |birth_place = Aberdeen, Washington, USA|resides = Phoenix, Arizona, USA|spouse = |children = 1|family = Nikki Bella (sister-in-law) Johnny Ace (step-father-in-law)|names = American Dragon Bryan Danielson|trainer = Masato Tanaka Rudy Boy Gonzalez Shawn Michaels Texas Wrestling Academy William Regal}} Bryan Lloyd Danielson (born May 22, 1981) is an American professional wrestler. Danielson wrestled for various companies in Japan, winning the GHC Junior Heavyweight Championship in Pro Wrestling Noah (NOAH) and the IWGP Junior Heavyweight Tag Team Championship (with Curry Man) in New Japan Pro Wrestling (NJPW). Early life Danielson was born and raised in Aberdeen, Washington, to a father who was a logger and a therapist mother, who divorced when Danielson was young. Danielson has an older sister, named Billie Sue. He competed in various sports at Aberdeen-Weatherwax High School including football. Professional wrestling career Japan and other promotions (2001–2004, 2009) Danielson first toured Japan with Frontier Martial-Arts Wrestling (FMW) with Lance Cade, a fellow trainee from the TWA, competing in several tag team matches. He returned to Japan after his release from the WWF, competing in Japan's premier promotion, New Japan Pro Wrestling (NJPW), where he used his American Dragon persona, and donned a red, white, and blue mask reminiscent of a dragon. As a part of the junior heavyweight division, Danielson had success in both singles and tag team competition in the company, winning (without wearing a mask) the IWGP Junior Heavyweight Tag Team Championship with Curry Man on March 12, 2004. After his departure from wXw, he made his debut with Philadelphia-based independent promotion, CHIKARA to compete in their King of Trios tournament, which saw him team with Claudio Castagnoli and Dave Taylor in a contingency called Team Uppercut. In the same year, it was announced Danielson would compete in Dragon Gate USA (DGUSA) in their second show, which saw him lose to Open the Dream Gate Champion Naruki Doi. Return to Dragon Gate USA (2010) While Danielson continued on undefeated in EVOLVE in the following day by returning to Dragon Gate USA, and submitted SHINGO in the dark match main event Return of the Dragon. After the match, Danielson joined BxB Hulk, Masato Yoshino, Naruki Doi, and PAC as the fifth member of the stable World–1. On September 25, Danielson returned to Dragon Gate USA (despite being signed with WWE) and defeated YAMATO in the main event of the evening. The following day, Danielson defeated Jon Moxley. Persona Danielson spent the majority of his career without an overt character in favor of becoming popular with the fans through his monikers, signature mannerisms, and wrestling ability. His attire has varied, as well, with the majority of his tenure wearing a pair of short trunks,Murphy, Dan. "Report Cards of the Stars". Pro Wrestling Illustrated July 2008. 152. but also ventured into wearing a mask for a time in Japan as an extension of his "American Dragon" persona. Other media Danielson was prominently featured in the Wrestling Road Diaries documentary, which was filmed in 2009 before he signed with WWE. Danielson is a fan of indie rock music and recorded a single with Kimya Dawson that was a tribute to wrestling legend "Captain" Lou Albano. Danielson's relationship with his wife Brie Bella, including their wedding is regularly covered in the WWE reality series ''Total Divas on the E! Network. Danielson was one of the judges on the sixth season of Tough Enough, alongside Hulk Hogan, who was later replaced by The Miz, and Paige. Personal life Danielson has cited a number of wrestlers as influences to his style, including Toshiaki Kawada, Mitsuharu Misawa, and William Regal. He has also made mention of modeling his wrestling off of the work of Dean Malenko and Chris Benoit in his early career, then using Brazilian jiu-jitsu as a platform to develop his own style. In 2009, Danielson relocated to Las Vegas, Nevada, where he began training in mixed martial arts at Randy Couture's Xtreme Couture gym. He was also roommates with Xtreme Couture's head grappling trainer, Neil Melanson. During his time as ROH World Champion, Danielson was appointed the head trainer of the ROH Wrestling Academy, replacing Austin Aries. He relinquished the position to Delirious in 2007. Danielson became a vegan in 2009, after getting elevated liver enzymes and several staph infections. In 2012, he was awarded a Libby Award from PETA for being the "Most Animal-Friendly Athlete". In honor of Danielson, Mayor Micah Cawley of Yakima, Washington declared January 13 "Daniel Bryan Day". In September 2012, Danielson revealed that he was no longer a vegan due to his inability to find vegan food while travelling on the road for WWE. He later elaborated that he had developed a soy intolerance and could not find enough non-soy-based vegan food, but he still keeps a mostly vegan diet on the road. On Twitter, he stated that he has vitiligo. Danielson has stated in his book that he does not drink due to his father's past as an alcoholic. On April 11, 2014, Danielson married WWE Diva Brie Bella, with whom he had been in a relationship for nearly three years. On April 6 2016, nearly two months since Danielson's retirement, Bella also retired part-time from wrestling in order to start a family with him. On April 21, 2014, WWE announced the death of Danielson's father. He insisted on performing that night on Raw as scheduled, but left for home immediately after his segment had aired. Danielson described his WrestleMania XXX victories and his marriage shortly after as high points in his professional and personal life, but within two months he then experienced personal low points – the deaths of his father and Connor Michalek – followed by a professional low point of requiring surgery. During a 2014 interview, Danielson stated that he cannot swim or go deep into water due to a ruptured ear drum he suffered in an unspecified 2007 Ring of Honor match against Kenta. Danielson has never had the ruptured ear drum fixed, and he claims he still has problems hearing in his left ear. In wrestling * Finishing moves ** As Bryan Danielson/American Dragon *** Bridging dragon suplex *** Cattle Mutilation / (Bridging double chickenwing) *** Crossface chickenwing, sometimes with bodyscissors *** Crucifix position followed by multiple elbow strikes to the side of the opponent's head *** Double wristlock to a grounded opponent followed by multiple stomps to the opponent's chest, face, and head *** LeBell Lock (Omoplata crossface) – 2010 *** Regal-Plex (Bridging leg hook belly-to-back suplex) – adopted from William Regal *** Triangle choke, sometimes followed by multiple elbow strikes to the opponent's head * Signature moves ** Ankle lock ** Arm trap seated abdominal stretch ** Backflip off the top rope over a standing opponent followed by a crooked arm lariat ** Cobra clutch to a facedown opponent ** Corner elbow smash ** Discus elbow smash ** Diving headbutt ** Dragon screw ** Dragon sleeper ** Drop toe-hold into the turnbuckles, sometimes followed by kicking the second rope into the opponent's throat ** European uppercut ** Heel hook ** High knee from the apron to the outside of the ring ** Indian deathlock ** Jumping knee drop ** Multiple kick variations *** Corner drop *** Front missile drop *** Repeated shoot to a kneeling opponent's chest followed by a roundhouse to the opponent's head, with theatrics *** Roundhouse *** Running big boot ** Multiple suplex variations *** Belly-to-back, sometimes from the top rope *** Belly-to-belly *** Cravate *** Danielson Special (Double underhook floated over into a cross armbreaker) "Daniel Bryan". Wrestlingdata.com. Retrieved March 29, 2016. - innovated *** German *** Northern Lights *** Snap underhook *** Super *** Tiger ** Rolling fireman's carry slam ** Running leg lariat ** Single leg Boston crab ** Sleeper hold ** Small package ** Suicide dive ** Surfboard, sometimes while applying a dragon sleeper * Nicknames ** "The American Dragon" **"The Submission Specialist" * Entrance themes ** "The Final Countdown" by EuropeCastle, Al. "The Best in the World: Is this more than hype?" Pro Wrestling Illustrated February 2009. 50. (ROH/independent circuit) Championships and accomplishments * New Japan Pro Wrestling ** IWGP Junior Heavyweight Tag Team Championship (1 time) – with Curry Man ** Best of the American Super Juniors (2004) * Pro Wrestling Noah ** GHC Junior Heavyweight Championship (1 time) * Wrestling Observer Newsletter ** Best Technical Wrestler (2005–2013) ** Most Outstanding Wrestler (2006–2010) ** Most Outstanding Wrestler of the Decade (2000–2009) References Category:Wrestlers Category:Gaijin Category:NJPW Roster Category:Pro Wrestling Noah Roster Category:American male professional wrestlers